Lil’ Troy (born on February 24, 1966 in Houston, Texas) may have first introduced himself as a rapper, but found fame as an executive producer and the founder of Short Stop Records. Taking local crew Mass 187 under his wing in 1987, he oversaw the group’s fleeting success: the trio signed to Payday Records for the single “Gangsta Strut” before returning to Short Stop with two LPs in the 1990s. Troy’s real breakthrough came with “Wanna Be a Baller”, the second single from his 1998 debut album Sittin’ Fat Down South, which featured vocals from Yungstar, Lil’ Will, Big T and Screwed Up Click members Fat Pat and H.A.W.K. The track peaked at number 70 on the Billboard Hot 100, leading to a deal with Universal and the re-release of Sittin’ Fat Down South, which subsequently became certified platinum in the United States. Despite only rapping on two of the album’s tracks, Troy credited himself as its primary artist, a business decision which he claims was inspired by Quincy Jones. He took a similar approach on his sophomore album, the less commercially successful Back to Ballin, which entered the Billboard 200 at number 95 in 2001. Embroiled in a public feud with former collaborator Scarface for much of his career, Troy lost a $225,000 copyright lawsuit to the Short Stop alumnus in 2002. The situation became the main focal point of his third album, 2006’s Paperwork: The Scarface G-Code Violations, which did not chart.
